…continued from page two
The topic/subject of Hulk Hogan was transitioned into on The Mayhem airwaves, along with his possible/probable role in TNA — which still has yet to be defined, although from Hulk’s own lips he will be running the show. Blade asked Jim if he ever thought that after five years Jeff Jarrett would be out in TNA & Hogan would be running things. "The thing is how is this building for the future? The man is almost 60 years old, and he’s a pathological storyteller. In his new book, he claims he used to wrestle 400 nights a year, because he would fly back from Japan to Madison Square Garden & wrestle there across the International Date Line. The point is TNA needs to focus on the young talent, making new stars, getting guys over to replace the main-eventers who needs to be packed in ice after every performance. That’s been met with resistance, because Vince Russo does not know how to get guys over. He knows how to script a bunch of people to be wacky, but he never gets wrestlers over, so their new talent is no more over now than they were three years ago. And that’s why now they are trying to rush it, and that won’t work either. And with Hogan & his sports-entertainment, "Let’s go with the older fellas’ philosophy he has always shown, I don’t understand how that is building for the future." He mentioned that Hogan is a big draw, a celebrity, & that people will watch, but Russo is still writing for the show. "If a lot of people are looking at a turd, does it still stink?"
Being one of the greatest managers of tag teams in wrestling history qualifies Jim Cornette to comment on the state of tag team wrestling. Besides the pushes of DX & Chris Jericho/The Big Show (as Unified World Tag Team Champions), the WWE has more or less pushed it aside, and TNA has a pretty stable hold on it, but can tag team wrestling make a return to prominence in 2010? "The way tag teams are presented is the problem. If you present them as two guys who can’t win matches on their own, or who seldom wins matches when they are together, or they are booked in the underneath of the card in the preliminary matches, that’s telling the fans that this is not that important. These aren’t major stars, this isn’t a major title this isn’t a major importance. But when you have two big stars as recognized as Big Show & Chris Jericho holding the belts & winning matches, presenting in the main event or even the high part of the card, then people take to it. The problem with tag team wrestling is that Vince doesn’t want to do that for most tag teams, because he believes superstars should be individuals, and you team up two big stars every now & then. The fans always loved, but it is not presented as important, and until it is, it’s not gonna get back over."
Concluded on page four …
